1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates to systems and methods for repairing damaged or broken utility poles. More specifically, this disclosure relates to splints for reinforcing or temporarily repairing a damaged or broken pole and methods for using said splits.
2. Description of the Related Art
Power lines and various other public utilities, such as cable, fiber optic cable, and related equipment such as transformers, are traditionally supported aerially by long poles. Typically, these utility poles are made of wood and have a length of about 40 feet, which enables the lines and wires to remain overhead and significantly above the street and ground level to protect individuals in the area from contacting the lines in the normal course of operation. These utility poles withstand not only the weight of the cables, wires and attached transformers, but must also withstand the strong transverse gusts of wind. As a result, these long wooden poles are typically buried about six (6) feet underground and pressure-treated with a preservative for protection against rot, fungi and insects.
After some years in service, however, wooden utility poles tend to experience decay and rotting. A utility pole may also become damaged from other means, such as car accidents, strong wind, icing, animal activity, or lightning. This damage can result in weakening of the pole, ultimately resulting either in catastrophic damage (breakage) of the pole under conditions that the pole would normally resist, or in direct catastrophic damage to the pole.
When a pole suffers catastrophic damage and breaks, there is an immediate need to return the lines the pole carried back to the lines' original elevated position. In the first instance, particularly in the case of downed power lines, the lines themselves present a significant hazard to human and animal life. Further, downed lines mean that the resource carried by the lines is generally unavailable for a large number of users at the far end of the lines. This can result in further damage, loss of productivity, and even loss of life to the end users, depending on the extent to which the resource is unavailable and for how much time. For these reasons, utility companies generally need to get poles repaired and restanding and to have the lines fully functional as quickly as possible after the poles suffer catastrophic damage.
This is often easier said than done. Repairs often have to be made under poor working conditions (such as in heavy snow or ice or with strong winds) and may have to be made in locations that can severely disrupt traffic patterns and other infrastructure. Further, installing a brand new replacement pole can require acquisition of the replacement pole, getting it to the necessary location (which is also often further hampered by the situation that caused the damage), removal or bypassing of the damaged pole, digging a new hole and necessary support structures, getting the new pole installed, and reconnecting wires to the new pole. These activities can require significant time and manpower, which can result in significant time before the related service is restored to end users.
Because of these problems, utility companies will often not immediately replace a damaged pole, but will attempt to simply repair it as quickly as possible to get it standing in a temporary fashion. They can then replace the pole, or provide a more permanent repair, in a more leisurely time frame. This allows for the utility company to restore service quicker, even under difficult working conditions, while carrying out necessary replacements and more major repairs when they can do so with less disruption and cost.
Traditionally, the repairs to get poles standing again were haphazard and utilized with whatever materials were on hand. Often rope was used to tie (lash) the parts together or old cross pieces or even random pieces of broken wood were attached to provide for nailed splints. While this provided short term relief, the repairs lacked structural integrity and were subject to further damage relatively easily. This could be a problem if the conditions which caused the initial damage were likely to return. Further, as the repairs were generally fairly haphazard and could be different at each pole, the strength of any particular repair was subject to the skill of the workers installing it and the available tools and materials. Thus, in the event of fairly widespread damage, it was not clear which poles need to be replaced quicker to avoid additional damage and further outages when temporary corrections failed.
Accordingly, there is a need for a stronger and more efficient apparatus and system for reinforcing utility poles that provides for a more uniform repair.